Three-dimensional dental microwear in type-Maastrichtian mosasaur teeth (Reptilia, Squamata).

ABSTRACT: Mosasaurs (Squamata, Mosasauridae) were large aquatic reptiles from the Late Cretaceous that filled a range of ecological niches within marine ecosystems. The type-Maastrichtian strata (68-66 Ma) of the Netherlands and Belgium preserve remains of five species that seemed to have performed different ecological roles (carnivores, piscivores, durophages). However, many interpretations of mosasaur diet and niche partitioning are based on qualitative types of evidence that are difficult to test explicitly. Here, we apply three-dimensional dental microwear texture analysis (DMTA) to provide quantitative dietary constraints for type-Maastrichtian mosasaurs, and to assess levels of niche partitioning between taxa. DMTA indicates that these mosasaurs did not exhibit neatly defined diets or strict d

SUBMITTER: Holwerda FM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10636054 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature